Best Automated Testing Tools for 2018
In a world where CI/CD is finally being taken seriously, everyone is trying to have stable and useful Automated Tests.
Most teams have started using cloud platforms which provide out-of-the-box features, such as pixel-by-pixel screenshot comparison, video recording and advanced assertions.
Without further ado, let’s start:
1. Endtest
A platform that allows you to create, manage and run Automated Tests for Web Applications and Native Mobile Apps (Android & iOS), without having to write any code.
It’s mostly free to use and they’ve got some really nice features, such as:
• Cross-browser grid, running on Windows and macOS machines
• Codeless Editor for Automated Tests
• Unlimited Video Recordings for your test runs
• Screenshot Comparison
• Geolocation
• Upload files in your tests
• An Endtest API, for easy integration with your CI/CD system
• Advanced Assertions
• Self-Healing tests, powered by Machine Learning
You can even run Automated Tests on Real Mobile Devices:
According to their Twitter account, they seem to be adding new features every week:
Endtest is a truly powerful and awesome platform and clearly the winner.
2. Ghost Inspector
Second place goes to Ghost Inspector, an interesting tool developed by a small team from Seattle.
It does have a Codeless Editor and a basic cross-browser grid (only headless Chrome and Firefox running on Ubuntu).
This tool can easily be integrated with different CI/CD systems by using their API.
You should really check out their Documentation section, it covers a lot.
The main inconvenience related to this tool is that you cannot run a test for longer than 10 minutes.
3. BrowserStack
A few years ago, BrowserStack was the best tool for cross-browser testing.
But the times have changed, new technologies have emerged and they failed to adapt.
Nowadays, offering a huge grid of VMs with browsers and mobile devices is no longer such a big deal.
Users are asking for smart solutions, built-in features and codeless approaches.
4. Testim
Developed by a small team from Israel, this tool offers some interesting features and a very limited cross-browser grid for users to run their tests on.
They’re offering a really cute feature: self-healing tests.
This is actually a very basic technology, which is also known as element locator hierarchy. Here’s how it works:
1. The test runs and finds locators for each element. A locator can be an ID, Class Name, XPath, CSS Selector, Text Inside, etc.
2. It remembers all those locators for each element and puts them into an order.
3. The next time the test will run, it will use one of those locators. If the element is not found, it will just use the other locator.
Sadly, they are advertising this feature as Machine Learning.
You can follow their Twitter page to stay up-to-date with their latest releases.
